Landry's CEO Tilman Fertitta discusses the fate of the company's area restaurant affected by hurricane Ike with members of his crises managment team Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) less

Landry's CEO Tilman Fertitta discusses the fate of the company's area restaurant affected by hurricane Ike with members of his crises managment team Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / ... more

Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle

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Kemah's boardwalk, seen from the air on Tuesday, took a strong hit.

Kemah's boardwalk, seen from the air on Tuesday, took a strong hit.

Photo: SMILEY N. POOL, CHRONICLE

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Landry's takes hard punches from hurricane

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Friday, they prepared for the worst.

Saturday, they watched and waited.

What they saw Sunday was not good.

"We're affected right now, huge," Landry's Restaurants chief Tilman Fertitta said after a hurricane assessment meeting with a dozen of his executives Tuesday.

"If you live in this area and play with fire, you're going to get burned."

He estimates the damage to his properties in Galveston and Kemah — which make up nearly 25 percent of the company's overall business — could come in at $50 million.

After spending the summer working on buying back his $1.3 billion company, Fertitta is now focused on insurance claims, employees and rebuilding, which he plans to do in typical Landry's fashion.